


Day 4 - Listen, I Can't Explain it

by ScullyLovesQueequeg



Series: Fictober 2019 [3]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: Complete, Gen, Post-Season 9 (X-Files), spiritual sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2021-01-15 13:49:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21254390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScullyLovesQueequeg/pseuds/ScullyLovesQueequeg
Summary: Mulder brings Scully to the spot where he had performed the ritual of Årsgång(lit. year's walk)when he was a student at Oxford.





	Day 4 - Listen, I Can't Explain it

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Year Walking](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2487605) by [ScullyLovesQueequeg](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScullyLovesQueequeg/pseuds/ScullyLovesQueequeg). 

> Backstory: A long time ago, I wrote a [**very, very bad** story about an ancient ritual that Mulder did in Sweden](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2487605) and he saw a glimpse of his future. I meant to write a sequel but never got around to it. I kind of want to write the whole story over honestly, it was awful. This isn’t much better (it’s not even consistent with the own canon I set up), but I had this drafted for a while.

“I came here when I was in college,” Mulder said, pushing through the thicket of trees. “It seemed like a dream, almost. I came back to the hostel and Phoebe was there with another girl. We broke up on the way back to Oxford.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Scully said sincerely, following behind him. “I know you felt strongly about her.”

“That’s just it,” Mulder said, stopping by a lone cabin. The chilly autumn air got under their coats and into their bones. “I knew before I got there that she had been cheating on me. I saw—I saw you, I saw us… the FBI… it was so real…”

“It sounds like you partied hard in college,” Scully said, the judgement removed from her tone. Mulder stopped to look over at her.

“Listen, I can’t explain it—you just have to trust me. I left my bike out here.”

Scully sighed to herself but followed behind him dutifully when he began walking again. It wasn’t long before they reached a small cabin with a bike chained to the tree.

“I can’t believe it’s still here,” Mulder said, running his fingers over the chain. Memories of the vision he had seen so many years came rushing back, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood as he felt a distinct pair of eyes on the back of his head. He looked over his shoulder but saw nothing.

“What is it?” Scully asked, looking around nervously, her eyes falling on the cabin door. Mulder glanced around her and then the bike.

“Nothing, I feel like something is watching us.”

Scully made a gesture to the cabin.

“Maybe there’s someone there?”

Mulder at it and shook his head.

“It’s a resupply cabin. They’re all over the forest, meant to provide somewhere to get your bearings and such. No, someone else is here…” Mulder said, though his tone implied he knew more than he was letting on. Scully sighed, and headed to the cabin, opening the door.

Inside, was a table, a fire place, a bunk bed, and a stove. It was not terribly big, and Scully noted that it was well kept. She noted the book by the door and perused it. The names there were from all different places. She smiled when she spotted a family that was from Germantown, MD.

“Do you think you would ever try the ritual again? Could I watch? For scientific purposes, of course,” Scully asked, and Mulder scoffed.

“No. I have to be alone, and… it isn’t worth it. I don’t want to know what the future brings. For a while, it messed me up knowing that I would make the FBI and meet you. I spent so much time waiting around—“

“For me?” Scully asked, opening the window and leaning out. Mulder nodded.

“Yeah… sounds stupid now, doesn’t it?”

Scully laughed softly.

“A little, yes. But in a strange way, it’s romantic. It’s the kind of thing that some women like to hear.”

That made Mulder smile, and disengaging his bike, he went to join Scully in the cabin.

“Did you want to stop here for the night?” He asked, and Scully gave him a mischievous look.

“Sure. Maybe you’ll get another vision.”


End file.
